Butterfly releasematchbin-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/public/sites/494/... · Healthcare 2009 Inside Today’s Register Class of 2009 Edition Inside Today’s Register Details on Page

Healthcare 2009Inside Today’s Register

Class of 2009 EditionInside Today’s Register

Details on Page A2

WEATHER

50 CENTS • Vol. 117, No. 43 THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2009 www.mydailyregister.com

Point Pleasant, West Virginia

INDEX2 SECTIONS — 12 PAGES

Annie’s Mailbox A5

Calendars A5

Classifieds B2-4

Comics B5

Editorials A4

Sports B Section

Weather A2

© 2009 Ohio Valley Publishing Co.

INSIDE• Archery program introduced at Leon Elementary.See Page A2• Kids of character.See Page A2• Safety demonstration.See Page A2• Legislators pass budget bills, now must compromise.See Page A2• Local Briefs.See Page A3• The new GM — Government Motors?See Page A3

SPORTS• Point beats Lincoln. See Page B1

Cyan Magenta Yellow Black


Town council to pursue paving grantBY NICOLE [email protected]

NEW HAVEN — As thecondition of the town’sstreets continues to deterio-rate, council members inNew Haven are hoping tosecure funding for repairs.

During Tuesday’s meet-ing, council members unan-imously approved fillingout paperwork for aCommunity ParticipationGrant application to repairLynn Drive and Oak andSarah Jo streets.

Councilwoman Karen

Hindel said she had contactedthe governor’s office aboutthe grant, which ranges from$25,000-35,000. She said thatif the town receives one ofthe grants, the municipalitywill be required to provide 10percent of what is awarded.

Hindel added that grantmoney could help offset theproposed street assessmentfee, which members haddiscussed implementing onall residents’ monthly bills.That fee, which would havebeen approximately $3,could be reduced to $1.50,with the grant money pro-

viding the rest of the funds.The town will obtain esti-

mates on repairs on some ofthe streets and further dis-cuss the issue at an upcom-ing meeting.

In other business, councilmembers:

• Unanimously approvedrequiring that the townemployees who pick upgarbage each week monitorthe number of bags beingput out by residents.According to the town’sordinance, residents are per-mitted to set out four bagseach week not to exceed 40

pounds. Extra bags willincur an additional chargeon the monthly bill.

• Unanimously approveda $100 donation to be usedto buy pizza for the end-of-school street dance sched-uled 6-9 p.m. June 5.

• Discussed work beingdone on a ditchline alongSixth and Seventh streets,where drainage issues haveexisted for the past severalmonths. Council membersagreed to work with townemployees to continue workon the ditchline, with anupdate on the project to be

presented at each meeting.• Discussed putting decals

on the town vehicles so thatall the vehicles will be prop-erly marked.

• Discussed sending let-ters to residents whose grassis too high in their yards.

• Were told that more than160 people attended open-ing day at the public swim-ming pool Monday.

• Scheduled a work sessionfor 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 2.

• Adjourned at 8 p.m.The next regular meeting

will be 7 p.m. Tuesday, June9.

Volunteersneeded forschoolcommitteeBY HOPE [email protected]

POINT PLEASANT —The Mason County Boardof Education is collectingnames of potential volun-teers to serve on aComprehensive EducationalFacilities Plan (CEFP)Committee for the 2010-2020 cycle.

During Tuesday’s meet-ing, members discussed theCEFP Committee and are inthe process of getting namesof potential committeemembers. The committee’smain objective will be thedevelopment of a prioritized10-year building plan andbudget for the local schoolsystem.

The most recent commit-tee had 19 members whodealt with a range of top-ics, including consolida-tion and state-appropriatedfunds. Superintendent Dr.Larry Parsons said themain topics for the newcommittee members willbe proposed projects atsome of the county’s ele-mentary schools, includingBeale, Leon andRoosevelt.

According to informa-tion provided byArchitectural VisionGroup of Cleveland, Ohio,the committee will meetonce before the end of thecurrent school year for anorganizational meeting.

Responsibilities of themembers will include par-ticipation in a series of com-mittee meetings as well as apublic forum beginning thisfall to review the existingfacilities’ conditions, exist-ing space analysis, enroll-ment projections and asso-ciated costs.

The committee also willwork to provide a strongeducational environmentthat will meet the demandsof current educational pro-grams while being flexibleenough to accommodatefuture programs. Thatincludes developing along-range technologyimprovement plan and

New Haven teen arrested for burglarySTAFF [email protected]

NEW HAVEN — A NewHaven teen has been arrest-ed on charges of burglaryand breaking and entering.

William Bissell, 18, wasarrested May 21 by officerswith the New Haven PoliceDepartment, according toChief Rich Gilkey. Bissellwas charged with posses-

sion of a controlled sub-stance, two counts ofbreaking and entering andone count of daytime bur-glary.

Gilkey said the arrest wasa result of a report of a sus-picious person trying to getinto a residence in the townlast week. When officersarrived in the area, theynoticed a man hiding in thebushes near the residence.

The officers then appre-hended the man and arrest-ed him.

Gilkey said the policedepartment had been fol-lowing up on two priorcases of breaking andentering in vehicles thathappened earlier in theweek.

Gilkey added that he ispleased that residents in theTown of New Haven are

reporting crimes and suspi-cious activity in theirrespective neighborhoods.

Bissell was transported tothe Western Regional Jail inBarboursville. He wasarraigned by MagistrateGail Roush, who set bond at$12,000.

Cpl. Ian Smith andPatrolman David Hardwickare continuing their investi-gation.

Butterfly releaseParticipants inWednesday’sThird Annual

Hospice ButterflyRelease at

Pleasant ValleyHospital were allsmiles following

the event. Themonarch butter-

flies werereleased

because theyrepresent life,and after their

release many ofthem perched on

people’s shoul-ders or surround-ing shrubs before

flying off.

Hope Roush/photos

Please see Volunteers, A3

LOCAL • STATELOCAL • STATE Page A2Thursday, May 28, 2009

Local Stocks

Local WeatherThursday...Showers like-

ly. A chance of thunder-storms in the morning...Thenthunderstorms likely in theafternoon. Locally heavyrainfall possible. Highs inthe lower 80s. Southwestwinds 5 to 10 mph. Chanceof rain 70 percent.

Thursday night...Mostlycloudy. Showers and thun-derstorms likely in theevening...Then a chance ofshowers after midnight.Lows around 60. Westwinds 5 to 10 mph. Chanceof rain 70 percent.

Friday...Partly sunnywith a 20 percent chance ofshowers. Highs in the lower80s. Northwest winds 5 to10 mph.

Friday night...Partlycloudy. Lows in the mid50s. West winds around 5mph.

Saturday...Partly sunnywith a chance of showersand thunderstorms. Highs inthe lower 80s. Chance ofrain 30 percent.

Saturday night...Mostlycloudy in theevening...Then becomingpartly cloudy. Lows in theupper 50s.

Sunday and Sundaynight...Partly cloudy. Highsaround 80. Lows in theupper 50s.

Monday...Mostly sunny.Highs in the mid 80s.

Monday night...Mostlycloudy. Lows in the lower60s.

Tuesday throughWe d n e s d a y . . . M o s t l ycloudy with a chance ofshowers and thunderstorms.Highs around 80. Lows inthe lower 60s. Chance ofrain 30 percent.

AEP (NYSE) — 25.42Akzo (NASDAQ) — 45.11Ashland Inc. (NYSE) — 25.94Big Lots (NYSE) — 23.65Bob Evans (NASDAQ) — 25.13BorgWarner (NYSE) — 30.97Century Aluminum (NASDAQ)— 6.24Champion (NASDAQ) — 1.61Charming Shops (NASDAQ) —3.67City Holding (NASDAQ) — 31.59Collins (NYSE) — 41.36DuPont (NYSE) — 27.56US Bank (NYSE) — 17.96Gannett (NYSE) — 5.04General Electric (NYSE) — 12.99Harley-Davidson (NYSE) — 16.30JP Morgan (NYSE) — 34.66Kroger (NYSE) — 22.07Limited Brands (NYSE) — 12.63Norfolk Southern (NYSE) —34.93

Ohio Valley Banc Corp. (NAS-DAQ) — 24.30BBT (NYSE) — 21.19Peoples (NASDAQ) — 16.47Pepsico (NYSE) — 50.01Premier (NASDAQ) — 5.93Rockwell (NYSE) — 30.09Rocky Boots (NASDAQ) — 4.15Royal Dutch Shell — 51.46Sears Holding (NASDAQ) —56.62Wal-Mart (NYSE) — 49.32Wendy’s (NYSE) — 4.35WesBanco (NYSE) — 15.60Worthington (NYSE) — 13.62Daily stock reports are the 4p.m. ET closing quotes of trans-actions for May 27, 2009, provid-ed by Edward Jones financialadvisors Isaac Mills in Gallipolisat (740) 441-9441 and LesleyMarrero in Point Pleasant at(304) 674-0174. Member SIPC.

Archery program introduced at Leon ElementaryLEON — Students at

Leon Elementary Schoolrecently embarked on a newadventure.

Students in the fourth-,fifth- and sixth-grade classesare participating in the

Archery in West VirginiaSchools program, which wasstarted at the school by JohnBonecutter, physical educa-tion teacher. The studentshave been taught archerysafety, features of the bow

and proper handling of thebow and equipment.

The archery program issupported by the Leon ParentTeacher Organization. Thestudents were very excited tostart the program and are

looking forward to continu-ing their archery skills.

Sharon Nunnery, princi-pal, showed the studentsthat they can learn a newskill at any age and alsotook part in the program.

Submitted photoStudents in the sixth grade at Leon Elementary School show off their bows used in a new archery program. They are pic-tured with John Bonecutter, physical education teacher.

Submitted photoThese students at Point Pleasant Intermediate School were selected as Kids of Character for April. Wendy’s of PointPleasant donated value menu coupons to further recognize these outstanding students. Pictured in the front row are JonBurns, Derek Blazer, Jason Schultz, Kelsey Price and Aubree Geppert; middle row: Bailey Calandros, Brady Hill, AliciaMoss, Colton McCoy and Lindsey Oxyer; and third row: James Edmonds, Darrian Walker, Kaitlyn Corbin, Aden Yates,Delaney Bronosky and Halley Martin. Not pictured are Shaea Bryant and Jayla Smith. Students are chosen from eachclass every month. These students stand out as being trustworthy, respectful, responsible, fair, caring and good citizens.

Kids of character

Submitted photoDeputy Terry Powell of the Mason County Sheriff’s Department recently visited Jill Martin’s class at Point PleasantPrimary School to demonstrate how to do fingerprinting.

Safety demonstration

Legislators passbudget bills, nowmust compromiseBY LAWRENCE MESSINAASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Legislature passedslightly different versions of a new state budgetWednesday, with each chamber embracing most of thenearly $200 million worth of cuts that were recommendedby Gov. Joe Manchin.

The House of Delegates voted 76-19 with five absences— just enough for the sufficient majority — to suspend therules and allow for passage a day earlier than scheduled. Itthen sent its revised spending measure to the Senate with avote of 82-13.

The Senate later unanimously passed its version of thebudget, after also suspending the rules.

The dueling versions, which differ by $2.8 million, setthe stage for a joint conference committee to begin craftinga compromise.

The two chambers are expected to appoint the conferencecommittee Thursday. The senators and delegates havegiven themselves until June 6 to complete this extendedsession.

If they finish early, Manchin wants to follow with a spe-cial session to revisit several bills that failed during the reg-ular session, most of them from his legislative agenda.

Both the House and Senate versions take effect July 1and include around $4.2 billion worth of spending backedby general tax and lottery revenues. The Senate’s is $200million smaller than what Manchin first proposed inFebruary, while the House cuts total $197 million.

The recession prompted the governor to project a declinein the tax and lottery revenue sources by $197 million.

Lawmakers decided to wait until after their regular ses-sion ended last month to finish the budget to see whetherthe state’s economy worsened. Buoyed by better-than-expected April tax revenues, the Legislature began theextended session Tuesday.

Both versions rely on $78 million from the federal stim-ulus to offset several large cuts from the general revenueportion of the budget: $23 million for public schools, $11million for higher education and $44 million for Medicaid.

House Minority Leader Tim Armstead and otherRepublican delegates said they objected to including stim-ulus dollars. Manchin and Democratic lawmakers had bothpreviously also favored applying those funds toward onlytemporary spending.

“We need to be very careful and consider very carefullyfilling holes in this budget with such one-time money aseconomic stimulus funding,” said Armstead, of KanawhaCounty. “This budget, to a degree, just delays someinevitable hard choices that have to be made.”

House Finance Chairman Harry Keith White noted thestimulus’ goal of reviving the economy, expressing hopethat regular state revenues will begin to improve.

“We’re one of the few states that doesn’t have to use allof its stimulus to balance its budget,” said White, D-Mingo.“We’ve balanced the budget without cuts to services, with-out layoffs and without tax increases.”

Both versions cut another $51.1 million meant for a spe-cial trust fund covering the non-pension benefits of futurepublic retirees. They also zero out $15 million for a reserveaccount overseen by legislative leaders, and $3.9 millionfor the governor’s civil contingency fund.

Other cuts include $1.4 million for new State Police vehi-cle purchases, or 70 percent of what had been budgeted,and all $250,900 meant for the state treasurer’s PersonalFinance Education Program.

Some cuts have been offset by other funding sources. Feeproceeds, for instance, will cover the $249,000 removedfrom the general revenue budget for staffing at the Divisionof Miners’ Health, Safety and Training.

Most of the differences between the two versions occurin sections outlining general revenue spending on publicschools, economic development programs and theDepartment of Health and Human Resources.

Thursday, May 28, 2009 www.mydailyregister.com Point Pleasant Register • Page A3

Fields deploys to Iraq

NEW HAVEN — OnMay 5, Nicholas Fields,the son of Jeff Fields ofNew Haven, deployed toIraq. His deployment willbe approximately 12months, and his primaryduty station is in FortBliss, Texas.

He and his wife recentlyhad their first baby, WyattHugh Browning Fields.

Fields is detached to 4thBCT 1st AD Bravo Battery2-29 FA.

Cemeterycleanup

completedMASON — The Mason

Memorial Cemetery locat-ed along Kebler Lanerecently was mowed andhad maintenance workcompleted, including thesetting up of stones, cut-ting brush and removingold flowers.

Volunteers spent approx-imately three hours clean-ing the cemetery, which ismowed only when dona-tions are given. Theyencouraged others todonate money or time tohelp maintain the ceme-tery.

Wedding dateannounced

MASON — JasonHarrison and KaleyFerguson will be wed at5:30 p.m. June 6 at MasonUnited Methodist Church.

The gracious custom ofopen church will beobserved.

Church plansgospel sing

CLIFTON — CliftonUnited Methodist Churchwill host a night of blue-grass and southern gospelmusic beginning at 6 p.m.Saturday.

Featured groups includeHis Own and the GospelBluegrass Gentlemen. Bothgroups have performed inthe area on numerous occa-sions.

For more information,call 304-773-5559.

Local Briefs

budget that sustains thecapacity to keep pace withever-changing develop-ments as well as incorpo-rating environmentally-friendly and sustainabledesign in each buildingproject when feasible.

Committee members alsowill be part of the CEFPTeam, which will includearchitects, planners, par-ents, school administra-tors/staff, Board ofEducation representativesand community members.There is no compensationfor participation.

Potential CEFP commit-tee members’ names will besubmitted for approval dur-ing the next meeting.

In other business:• Board members recog-

nized the students whoplaced in the State SocialStudies Fair: KatherineDeem, Macy Adkins, JozieFrye, MakinleyHigginbotham, NoahMorgan, Samantha Young,Tessa Tarker, KatieWilson, Ricky Kearns,Lauren Lanier, LoriWooten, Rusty Maness,Preston Rairden, DrewFoglesong, Brook Fisher,Liz Farley, GabrielStarcher, Justin Cavendar,Josie Weethee, BreannaSmith, Scotty Wilcox,Jessica McCoy, MadisonHesson and Rachel Carr.

• Board members recog-nized participants in theNational Academic GamesTournament: MichaelHeinmen, Kylenn Criste,Riken Nowlin, Trey Byus,Erik Albright, TommyFoust, Guy Fisher, HoldenAdkins, Hunter Trent andPeyton Humphreys.

The next regular meetingwill be 6:30 p.m. Tuesday,June 9 at the Mason CountyCareer Center.

Volunteersfrom Page A1

BY JIM KUHNHENNAND KEN THOMASASSOCIATED PRESS WRITERS

WASHINGTON —Government Motors.

A new name for Detroit’sweakened auto giant GM ismaking the rounds, some-times with irony, some-times with dread, suggest-ed by the deepestWashington industrialintervention in a half-cen-tury. The Obama adminis-tration is planting itself atthe wheel of GeneralMotors with a major own-ership stake — and all thatgoes with it for the U.S.taxpayer.

The company appearedcloser than ever to bank-ruptcy on Wednesday afterits bondholders turnedtheir backs on a federallyordered offer to swap theirdebt for GM stock. Ifbankruptcy does come, thegovernments of the UnitedStates and Canada couldend up with as much as 70percent of a reconstitutedGM when the court dustsettles— with the biggestshare by far held by theU.S. Treasury.

Administration officialsportray themselves as reluc-tant players in this industri-al drama, their hands forcedby an economic and finan-cial crisis so severe thatinaction would have terribleand far-flung consequences.And they insist they have nointention of managing theday-to-day operations ofGM or Chrysler, which isalready moving through aswift bankruptcy.

But with its huge finan-cial stake, the governmenthas hardly been a passiveobserver.

On March 31, PresidentBarack Obama — a dayafter firing GM CEO RickWagoner — gave the com-pany until June 1 to makeaggressive cuts. It was theTreasury Department thatinstructed GM not to offerbondholders any morethan 10 percent of compa-ny equity. And no corpo-rate owner has as direct aline to Congress as theTreasury Department.Lawmakers last weekwere already pressuringSecretary TimothyGeithner to intervene inthe planned closure ofauto dealerships and com-plained about GM plans to

import cars made in thecompany’s Chinese plants.

Obama’s auto task forcehas been working withGeneral Motors, its union,bondholders and dealers towin concessions sinceFebruary. The panel hasbeen led by StevenRattner, a former WallStreet financier and a topDemocratic fundraiser,and Ron Bloom, a WallStreet turnaround special-ist who has advised theUnited Steelworkersunion. When Obamadecided to oust Wagoner,it was Rattner whoinformed the GM execu-tive.

“We’ve tried to be trueto the president’s basicprinciple that we shouldnot be in the business ofrunning the company,”Bloom told TheAssociated Press. “We arethe president’s line peo-ple, making recommenda-tions to the decision-mak-ers on large amounts oftaxpayer dollars. So wehave a tremendous respon-sibility to be thoughtfulabout our recommenda-tions on how those dollarsget used. On the otherhand, we are not the man-agement of the company.”

A bankruptcy filing thisweek is unlikely. GM andthe administration willprobably wait until the June1 deadline to announce anext move.

The federal governmenthas already injected nearly$20 billion into GM.Helping it through bank-ruptcy would require bil-lions more — exactly howmuch would depend on thelength of the proceedings.

By positioning itself toown a sizable majority ofthe company, the Obamaadministration is alsoassuming a greater stakethan the 8 percent share itobtained in Chrysler’sbailout. Chrysler couldemerge from bankruptcycourt as early as nextweek.

While even a swiftbankruptcy for GM wouldbe a blow to the compa-ny’s pride as an industrialgiant, that step could bethe best available. Thecompany would emergefrom court with a fractionof its current debt and so-called legacy costs forretirees, and with a more

manageable dealer net-work. At issue is whetherthe proceeding itselfwould taint the companyand damage its sales. Sofar, Chrysler’s bankruptcyhas not driven customersaway.

Despite the relativelysmooth experience withChrysler, however, GM isa larger company that ismore difficult to restruc-ture. Chrysler has Fiat pre-pared to assume a portionof the company. No simi-lar deal awaits GM. As aresult, participants in thenegotiations expect a GMbankruptcy to last longer.

What’s more, any govern-ment involvement as broadas Treasury’s in GM pre-sents a number of nettle-some issues, not the least ofwhich is whether the admin-istration can resist congres-sional entreaties to influ-ence management deci-sions.

“The task force role inlooking at GM is as a pri-vate equity model,” Sen.Bob Corker, R-Tenn., amember of the SenateBanking Committee whostays in frequent touchwith Geithner and Rattner,said in an interview. “It’smost unusual. The govern-ment is highly involvedand it’s a threshold weshould have nevercrossed.”

Auto industry analystssay GM would need a firmline between its ownershipand the people actually run-ning the company’s opera-tions.

“Politicians and pressuregroups and the like are notgood business people andcould very well lead thecompany in an unproduc-tive direction — maybe alethal one,” said GeraldMeyers, a University ofMichigan business profes-sor and former chief execu-tive of American MotorsCorp.

The auto industry haseconomic tentacles thatreach across the country.The Center forAutomotive Research, in astudy released this week,concluded that drawn-out,disruptive bankruptciesfor GM and Chryslerwould result in 1.3 millionjob losses by the end of2009. In contrast, success-ful bankruptcies — thosethat conclude within three

months — would cost andestimated 63,200 jobs thisyear and more than179,000 in 2010.

“The intervention is nec-essary and appropriate,”said Mark Zandi ofMoody’s Economy.com.,an economist who fre-quently advisesWashington policymakers.“Without it, GM would gointo bankruptcy and notcome out. There would bewide-ranging negativeimpacts across the econo-my. Just when the fiscalstimulus is kicking in, thiswould derail it.”

Governments haveplayed roles propping upauto companies in the pastwith mixed results. Whenthe Carter administrationprovided a $1.2 billionloan guarantee forChrysler in 1980, the gov-ernment received broadoversight of the companyand an ownership stake.Chrysler was able to avoidbankruptcy, developedfuel-efficient K-cars andrepaid the loans in 1983,seven years ahead ofschedule.

But in Great Britain, thebailout of British Leyland inthe 1970s and 1980s waslargely a failure. The Britishautomaker, which built theMG and Jaguar, sufferedthrough declining marketshare, poor labor relationsand foreign competitionbefore it became MG Rover,which filed bankruptcy in2005.

Some see the same instore for GM.

“This is a company thathas had its up and downs,”said Clifford Winston, aneconomist who has studiedthe auto industry at theBrookings Institution.“Why do we think the gov-ernment is going to do abetter job to turn thingsaround?”

Sen. Debbie Stabenow,D-Mich., said the Chryslerintervention proved thatthe consequences of inac-tion are too great toignore.

“The only reason thatpensions and health careand the jobs have been pro-tected is because the Obamaadministration was willingto come in with significantfinancing,” she said.“Assuming GM goes intobankruptcy, the same willbe true.”

AP photoGeneral Motors world headquarters is shown in Detroit, in this Tuesday, April 21 file photo. GM said Wednesday that notenough of its bondholders agreed to swap their debt for company stock, meaning the troubled automaker is almost cer-tainly headed for bankruptcy protection.

The new GM — Government Motors?

Obama talksup economy as politicshover nearby

WASHINGTON (AP) —President Barack Obamarefocused on the economyWednesday after devotingseveral days to his SupremeCourt nominee and thesticky issue of what to dowith detainees atGuantanamo Bay.

Not surprisingly, Obamasaid his $787 billion stimu-lus bill is paying dividendsand the economy is show-ing some promise. Equallyunsurprising, Republicanlawmakers disagreed.

The 2010 elections are 17months away, but theyweigh heavily on the presi-dent and members ofCongress, even as theygrapple with a sick econo-my, highly ambitious healthcare proposals and othermatters.

Obama’s two-day west-ern trip was overtly politi-cal, bracketed by big-dollarDemocratic fundraisers inLas Vegas and Los Angeles.When he turned to the econ-omy, sandwiched betweenthe fundraising events dur-ing a stop at Nevada’sNellis Air Force Base, hefocused on the issue mostlikely to determine nextyear’s elections, accordingto analysts in both parties.

Obama’s aides hadmocked reporters for mak-ing a fuss over his first 100days in office. But the pres-ident was eager to assessthe first 100 days of thestimulus package. He gaveit high marks.

The stimulus has “savedor created nearly 150,000jobs,” he said, includingjobs “building solar panelsand wind turbines, makinghomes and buildings moreenergy-efficient.”

The White House jobclaims are difficult to verifybecause they are based onestimates of how bad theeconomy might have beenwithout the stimulus ratherthan actual employmentdata. The country has lost1.3 million jobs sinceFebruary, a figure theObama administration sayswould have been far higherif not for the recoveryeffort.

Speaking to about 400Air Force personnel andfamilies at Nellis, near LasVegas, Obama recited anow-familiar report card:95 percent of working fam-ilies have received tax cuts;44 million Social Securityrecipients got a $250 bonus;unemployment benefitswere extended.

“Other Americans havesaved thousands by takingadvantage of the tax cred-its” that the stimulus pro-vides “for the purchase of anew home, a new fuel-effi-cient car, or energy-efficientcooling and heating sys-tems, windows and insula-tion,” Obama said in awarm hangar in the Nevadadesert.

Not so fast, said HouseGOP leader John Boehnerof Ohio.

His office accusedObama of “pulling out allthe stops to put a positivespin on the legislation.”Boehner cited examples ofstate officials complainingabout having trouble tap-ping the stimulus money,and economists questioningthe administration’s jobprojections.

The Republican StudyCommittee called the stim-ulus “the most wasteful,bloated spending bill inAmerican history.”

But Obama soldiered on,calling the stimulus “justthe beginning.” Heannounced more spendingfor renewable energy aftertouring a large field of solarpanels at Nellis, which hecalled “the largest solarelectric plant of its kind inthe entire WesternHemisphere.”

The sun-powered cellsprovide a quarter of thebase’s power needs, he said.

“That’s the equivalent ofpowering about 13,200homes during the day,” thepresident said, and it willsave the Air Force nearly $1million a year.

“We can remain theworld’s leading importer ofoil, or we can become theworld’s leading exporter ofclean energy,” he said.

It took them a while, butRepublican thinkers and theirmedia enablers appear tothink they’ve found a way toturn the torture issue againstDemocrats. Enough tiresomerhetoric about the rule of lawand America's lost moralcompass. Let’s take the dis-cussion back to the junior-high level, where everybody’smost comfortable. Let’s havea national witch hunt.

Skeptical analysts atmediamatters.org wrote theperfect headline: “What didPresident Pelosi know, andwhen did she know it?” ToHouse Republicans anddrumbeaters like NewtGingrich and RushLimbaugh, that's the bigquestion. Not whether CIAinterrogators under theorders of the Bush WhiteHouse violated all norms ofcivilized behavior franticallytrying to prove one of DickCheney’s most cherisheddelusions: nonexistent linksbetween Osama bin Ladenand Saddam Hussein, usedto justify invading Iraq.

Not, that is, whetheragents of the U.S. govern-ment used Stalinist tech-niques for Stalinist ends: tosecure “confessions” sup-porting decisions previouslymade for ideological rea-sons. But whether or notCIA briefers told a minoritycongresswoman inSeptember 2002 that cap-tured Al Qaeda operativeAbu Zubaydah had alreadybeen waterboarded 82 timesat Guantanamo.

In a press conference lastweek, Speaker Nancy Pelosiinsisted she'd been told in2002 only that “enhancedinterrogation” had beendeclared legal by the JusticeDepartment. Not that it hadbeen used, but could be

used at the president’s dis-cretion. She further intimat-ed — hold your hats — thatCIA briefers had misled her,a shocking calumny thatsent Republicans reeling tothe fainting couches.

What? CIA operatives,faithful adherents of the BoyScout Oath, conceal the truthfrom a known San Franciscoliberal? Who could believesuch a calumny? Not Rep.John Boehner, who demand-ed that Pelosi either provethe charge or resign.Gingrich also demanded afull-scale probe.

Pelosi, of course, has longsought an investigation ofthe Bush administration’suse of torture, with particularreference to bogus intelli-gence. “Let’s have an inves-tigation,” she keeps saying,“and see who's right.”

Less high-minded GOPsavants went to work onPelosi’s makeup, hair andclothing. That dashingbabe-magnet, talk-radiocomedian Limbaugh, madeBotox jokes. On CNN,chivalric Republican con-sultant Alex Castellanosquipped, “If Speaker Pelosiwere still capable of humanfacial expression, we’d seeshe’d be embarrassed,because, right now, she is ina very Nixon-like position.”

Ha-ha-ha.Evidence for the latter

proposition is surprisinglythin. Pelosi’s attackers cite

an allegedly dispositiverebuke by PresidentObama's CIA director, LeonPanetta. Viewed with evenminimal skepticism, how-ever, Panetta's remarks looklike a carefully lawyerednondenial denial.

“Let me be clear,” Panettasaid. “It is not our policy orpractice to misleadCongress. That is against ourlaws and our values.” Theday a CIA director of eitherparty admits otherwise willbe a memorable one indeed.Panetta also stated that “con-temporaneous records fromSeptember 2002 indicatethat CIA officers briefedtruthfully on the interroga-tion of Abu Zubaydah.”

Of course there’s truth,and then there’s the wholetruth, and nothing but thetruth. The last two wehaven’t yet seen. Panettacarefully neglects to affirmthe accuracy of said records.As, in fairness, he probablycannot. Former Florida Sen.Bob Graham, longtime intel-ligence committee chairman,says he was shown CIA doc-uments listing four torturebriefings he’d supposedlyreceived. Three of the datesconflicted with his ownmeticulous diaries. Theagency admitted error.

The incomparable bloggerDigby suggests applying“enhanced interrogationtechniques” to all concerned.“After all, if they were reli-able enough to keep thenation safe from evildoers,”she writes, “they would cer-tainly be reliable enough toget politicians and bureau-crats to admit what happenedin some CIA briefings.”

You can tell the mediathinks they’ve got Pelosi onthe run, however, becausethey’ve already begun

improving the story. BothThe New York Times andWashington Post, BobSomerby points out, ransame-day stories stating thatPelosi admitted “for the firsttime” last week learning ofAbu Zubaydah’s water-boarding in 2003, makingher look evasive. In fact, apress release stating that hasbeen featured on Pelosi’sWeb site since December2007. When a Democrat’sin the crosshairs, such errorsare rarely corrected.

Here are some things wedo know: In September2002, Pelosi had zeroauthority over the CIA.Whatever briefings shereceived were classified.

In October 2002,President Bush told thenation that, “we’ve learnedthat Iraq has trained AlQaeda members in bombmaking and poisons andgases” — false intelligencenow known to have beenproduced by torture.

In February 2003,Secretary of State ColinPowell repeated the bogusclaim to the United Nations.

In January 2004, Cheneytold the Rocky MountainNews that “detainees inGuantanamo” had con-fessed operational linksbetween Baghdad and binLaden — subsequentlyproven false by several gov-ernment probes.

So yeah, let’s investigatePelosi. Botox, lip-gloss andall.

(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette columnist GeneLyons is a NationalMagazine Award winnerand co-author of “TheHunting of the President”(St. Martin’s Press, 2000).You can e-mail Lyons [email protected]).

Afghanistan has beendubbed “Obama’s War” butmaybe it should be called “thewar on civilian casualties.”

You may have thought theUnited States was at war inAfghanistan to “defeat” theTaliban and win one for ourloyal ally in counter-jihad,the Afghan people. But eventhat pipedream is beside thepoint. The latest concern-turned-obsession of theUnited States is eliminatingas many as possible, if notall, “civilian casualties.” Ifwe can only do that, accord-ing to brain-trust, top-brass,fairy-tale thinking, we willsurely win the hearts andminds of the Afghan people.If we can’t, Afghan heartsand minds will go to thoseglobally recognized human-itarians, the Taliban.

Indeed, there is somethingwrong with this picture.That is, if the Afghan peoplewere really with us, theywould be, well, really withus — not constantly on orpast the brink of “alien-ation.” But who wants toadmit this? It would neces-sarily mark the end of theBush and now ObamaIslamic nation-building fan-tasy that began seven yearsago with the U.S. invasionof Afghanistan in OperationInfinite Justice. Come tothink of it, we hurriedlychanged that operationname also for — guesswhat? — fear of alienatingMuslims. Tacitly acceptingthe Islamic position thatonly Allah dispenses “infi-nite justice,” the U.S. gov-ernment launched OperationEnduring Freedom and“won” its first battle againstMuslim alienation. Chalkone up for dhimmitude.

Now, a new battle against

such alienation rages inAfghanistan. “Mullen:Civilian Deaths Hurt US inAfghanistan” reports theAssociated Press; “U.S.Envoy Vows to Help CutAfghan Civilian Deaths,”reports the New YorkTimes. The premise of thesestories is that it is our ownshortcomings, our own fail-ures — not inculcatedIslamic attitudes in the pop-ulation at large — that areresponsible for Afghanresentment over ournation’s continued efforts todefeat the Taliban.

“We cannot succeed inAfghanistan or anywhereelse, but let's talk specifical-ly about Afghanistan, bykilling Afghan civilians,”Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm.Mike Mullen said recently,practically as if killingAfghan civilians were U.S.policy. He added: “We can’tkeep going through inci-dents like this and expect thestrategy to work.”

By “incidents like this,”Mullen was referring to abattle early this month inAfghanistan’s Farahprovince where, accordingto Afghan governmentclaims, 140-plus civilianswere killed during a U.S.aerial bombardment. Evenas the U.S. military was stillinvestigating the incident,U.S. ambassador toAfghanistan Lt. Gen. Karl

W. Eikenberry hightailed itto an Afghan mosque withAfghan president HamidKarzai to present both U.S.condolences and mea culpas.

According to the NewYork Times, Karzai, who isseeking re-election,promised to rebuild the vil-lagers’ houses, to arrange forsome of the survivors to goon the haj pilgrimage toMecca, and to build schools,clinics and roads in theprovince. This sounds likeyour tax dollars at work.

“It is clear to me that if wedon’t get this right, we dorun the risk of alienating theAfghan people and creatingwhat David Kilcullen hascalled the accidental gueril-la,” Eikenberry later told theNew York Times, referringto the Australian formeraide to Gen. DavidPetraeus, who once infa-mously claimed that if hewere a Muslim, he would bea jihadist out of a shared“sense of adventure.” (This,truth be told, alienated me.)

As Eikenberry sees it, it’sall our fault. Except that it’snot. On Wednesday,Centcom issued interimfindings indicating that 60to 65 Taliban were killed inthe engagements in questionalong with 20 to 30 civilians— a far cry from 140-plus.Which makes me wonder:Could the ambassador haveapologized to imposters inthat audience of “sur-vivors”? Perish the alienat-ing thought.

Worth mentioning aresome details about the battleitself. According toCentcom, after Talibanfighters beheaded threecivilians in an Afghan town,Afghan police and armyforces were ambushed en

route by 200 to 300 waitingTaliban forces. Two police-men were killed.“Outgunned and out-manned,” Centcom reports,“the provincial governorrequested help from a coali-tion quick-reaction force.”

At this point, Talibanlaunched another attack onAfghan and U.S. forces, and“a U.S. Navy corpsman wasshot in the shoulder attempt-ing to rescue a woundedAfghan soldier. The coalitionforce used F-18 close-airsupport to suppress enemyfire from nearby buildingsand allow for the rescue ofthe wounded Afghan firstsergeant, who was trappedby heavy Taliban machine-gun and rocket-propelled-grenade fire.” Coordinatedby a ground commander, “aB-1 bomber crew fired onenemy firing and gatheringpositions in buildings and atree grove. Afghan and U.S.forces remained in the areaand observed the villagersreturning after the fightinghad ceased....”

“We strongly condemnthe Taliban for their brutali-ty in deliberately targetingand using human shields,” aU.S. military spokesmansaid. Which is preciselywhat Mullen andEikenberry should havesaid, praising our forces fora job well done. If that“alienates” Afghans, goodriddance. But meanwhile,an apology is owed here —to the U.S. military.

(Diana West is the authorof “The Death of the Grown-up: How America’s ArrestedDevelopment Is BringingDown Western Civilization,”and blogs at dianawest.net.She can be contacted [email protected]).

EDITORIALEDITORIAL Page A4Thursday, May 28, 2009

When does someone apologize to our military?

GeneLyons

Letters to the editor are welcome. They should be less than300 words. All letters are subject to editing, must be signed,and include address and telephone number. No unsigned let-ters will be published. Letters should be in good taste,addressing issues, not personalities. Letters of thanks to orga-nizations and individuals will not be accepted for publication.

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Is it time for some Pelosi fun?

TODAY IN HISTORYToday is Thursday, May 28, the 148th day of 2009. There

are 217 days left in the year.Today’s Highlight in History: On May 28, 1934, the

Dionne quintuplets — Annette, Cecile, Emilie, Marie andYvonne — were born to Elzire Dionne at the family farmin Ontario, Canada.

On this date: In 1533, the Archbishop of Canterbury,Thomas Cranmer, declared the marriage of England’s KingHenry VIII to Anne Boleyn valid.

In 1863, the first black regiment from the North leftBoston to fight in the Civil War.

In 1892, the Sierra Club was organized in San Francisco.In 1918, the Battle of Cantigny began during World War I as

American troops captured the French town from the Germans.In 1929, the first all-color talking picture, “On with the

Show,” opened in New York.In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed a button

in Washington signaling that vehicular traffic could begincrossing the just-opened Golden Gate Bridge in California.Neville Chamberlain became prime minister of Britain.

In 1959, the U.S. Army launched Able, a rhesus monkey,and Baker, a squirrel monkey, aboard a Jupiter missile fora suborbital flight which both primates survived.

In 1972, Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, who had abdi-cated the English throne to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson,died in Paris at age 77.

In 1977, 165 people were killed when fire raced throughthe Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Ky.

In 1987, Mathias Rust, a 19-year-old West German pilot,landed a private plane in Moscow’s Red Square.

Ten years ago: Russia’s Balkan envoy, Viktor Chernomyrdinmet with Slobodan Milosevic for nine hours, declaring theYugoslav president key to a Kosovo peace plan despite com-plications caused by Milosevic’s indictment for war crimes.

Five years ago: The Iraqi Governing Council chose IyadAllawi, a longtime anti-Saddam Hussein exile, to becomeprime minister of Iraq’s interim government. Some three dozenpeople were killed by a powerful earthquake in northern Iran.

One year ago: The White House reacted angrily to a high-ly critical memoir by President George W. Bush’s formerpress secretary, Scott McClellan, who wrote that Bush hadrelied on an aggressive “political propaganda campaign”instead of the truth to sell the Iraq war. Nepal’s lawmakersabolished the monarchy and declared the country a repub-lic, ending 239 years of royal rule.

Today’s Birthdays: Rockabilly singer-musician SonnyBurgess is 80. Actress Carroll Baker is 78. Basketball Hall ofFamer Jerry West is 71. Actress Beth Howland is 68. FormerNew York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is 65. Singer GladysKnight is 65. Singer Billy Vera is 65. Singer John Fogerty is64. Actor Brandon Cruz (“The Courtship of Eddie’s Father”)is 47. Country singer Phil Vassar is 47. Actress Christa Milleris 45. Rapper Chubb Rock is 41. Singer Kylie Minogue is 41.Actor Justin Kirk is 40. Television personality ElisabethHasselbeck (“The View”) is 32. Actor Jesse Bradford is 30.Pop singer Colbie Caillat is 24. Actress Carey Mulligan is 24.

Thought for Today: “The only thing I regret about mypast is the length of it. If I had to live my life again, I’dmake the same mistakes, only sooner.” —TallulahBankhead, American actress (1903-1968).

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TU-ENDIE-WEITU-ENDIE-WEI

Wiser to simplyback away

SATURDAY, MAY 30CLIFTON — Special singing, 6 p.m., Clifton United

Methodist Church. Music will be by His Own of Ashland,Ky., and the Gospel Bluegrass Gentlemen. Questions? Call304-773-5559.

POINT PLEASANT — Gospel sing, 7 p.m., Church ofChrist in Christian Union. New Jerusalem of Reynoldsburg,Ohio, will be featured.

SUNDAY, MAY 31POINT PLEASANT — Fifth Sunday sing, 7 p.m.,

Gospel Lighthouse Church. Featured singers will beHeavens Rush, the Miller Family and Marsha and TerryNeal.

JUNE 2-6COTTAGEVILLE — Bend Area Gospel Jubilee,

Jackson County Junior Fairgrounds. Singing will begin at 5p.m. June 2-4; 3 p.m. June 5; and 2 p.m. June 6. Questions?Call 304-882-2049.

SUNDAY, JUNE 7LETART — Special singing, Oak Grove United

Methodist Church. The Keith Reynolds Family will sing priorto the minister’s message. Questions? Call 304-675-6487.

JUNE 14-20KANAUGA, Ohio — Revival, 7 p.m. nightly, Silver

Memorial Freewill Baptist Church.JUNE 19-20

NEW HAVEN — Singing in the Pines, UnionCampground. Music will start at 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m.Saturday. More than 60 groups are expected to attend.Admission is free.

SUNDAY, JUNE 21POINT PLEASANT — Special singing, 10:30 a.m.,

Gospel Lighthouse Church. Featured singers will be ChristUnlimited of Akron, Ohio.

Please e-mail calendar items to [email protected].

Church Calendar

Page A5Thursday, May 28, 2009

Calendar of EventsTHURSDAY, MAY 28

POINT PLEASANT —Committee meeting, 9a.m., Mason County FarmService Agency, at office at224A First St.

POINT PLEASANT —Story time, 10:30 a.m. and1 p.m., Mason CountyPublic Library. Open to chil-dren ages 3-5. Registrationrequired. Questions? Call304-675-0894.

NEW HAVEN —Outreach services, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Jacob’s WellMinistries. Services avail-able include counseling,mission store and foodpantry. Questions? Call304-882-3838.

POINT PLEASANT —TOPS, weigh-in at 4:30p.m., meeting at 5 p.m.,Trinity United MethodistChurch. Questions? Call304-675-3692.

POINT PLEASANT —Weight Watchers, weigh-ins, 4:30 p.m., meeting at 5p.m., Krodel ParkClubhouse.

POINT PLEASANT —AA, 7:30 p.m., PresbyterianChurch, corner of Eighthand Main streets. Use sideentrance.

POINT PLEASANT —Point Pleasant WritersGuild for aspiring writers, 2-4 p.m., Mason CountyPublic Library. Questions?Call Nick Griffin at 304-675-3985.

POINT PLEASANT —Monthly dinner/meeting ofthe Woodmen of the WorldLife Insurance Societylodges 302 and 314, 6 p.m.,Mason County PublicLibrary. Those attending areasked to bring a covereddish and use the sideentrance. Questions? Call304-675-3358.

FRIDAY, MAY 29HENDERSON — Dance,

7-10 p.m., HendersonCommunity Center. Musicwill be provided by BigCountry.

GALLIPOLIS, Ohio —Community coffee, 8:30a.m., HMC Education andConference Center.Everyone welcome.Questions? Call 740-446-5053.

SATURDAY, MAY 30SOUTHSIDE — Dance,

7-10 p.m., SouthsideCommunity Center. Musicwill be provided by theRocky Mountain Boys.

SUNDAY, MAY 31LETART — Twelve-step

recovery meeting supportgroup, 5:30 p.m.,Maranatha CornerstoneChurch.The group is intend-ed for anyone with alcohol,drug or other addictions. Formore information or direc-tions, visit www.maranatha-cornerstonechurch.org orcall 304-882-2567.

MONDAY, JUNE 1NEW HAVEN —

American Legion AuxiliaryUnit 140 meeting, 6 p.m.,American Legion Post.


POINT PLEASANT —Mason County Right to Lifemeeting, 7 p.m., HeightsUnited Methodist Church.Questions? Call 304-882-2741 or 304-675-2599.

TUESDAY, JUNE 2POINT PLEASANT —

Quilts ’N Things, 9:30a.m., Mason CountyCourthouse Annex. Formore information, visithttp://qntg.wordpress.com.

POINT PLEASANT —Quilts ’N Things, Too, 5:30p.m., Mason CountyCourthouse Annex.

MASON — Stewart-Johnson Ladies AuxiliaryPost 9926 meeting, 7 p.m.

POINT PLEASANT —American Legion AuxiliaryPost 23 meeting, 7 p.m.

POINT PLEASANT —MGM Marine CorpsLeague meeting, 7 p.m.,Mason County PublicLibrary meeting room.

LETART— HELP DietClass, Letart CommunityCenter. Weigh-ins from5:30-6 p.m., followed by ashort meeting.

POINT PLEASANT —AA, noon, rear of thePrestera Center.

FLATROCK — Clothinggive-away, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.,

Good Shepherd UnitedMethodist Church.


GALLIPOLIS FERRY —Community AdvisoryPanel meeting, 7 p.m., ICLSupresta.

MASON — WahamaChoir Boosters meeting, 6p.m., choir room.

MASON — WahamaBand Boosters meeting, 7p.m., band room.

GALLIPOLIS, Ohio —Rehearsal of the FrenchColony Chorus, local chap-ter of Sweet AdelinesInternational, 7 p.m.,Central Christian Church.All ladies in the tri-statearea are welcome to visitthe practice sessions tolearn more about the four-part harmony music styleand enjoy the camaraderiein singing many styles ofmusic with other women.Questions? Call BevAlberchinski at 740-446-2476 or Suzy Parker at 740-992-5555.

GALLIPOLIS, Ohio —Holzer Clinic Retirees willmeet for lunch at noon,Courtside Bar and Grill, 308Second Ave. Pat Connorswill be the guest speaker.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3POINT PLEASANT —

Point Pleasant Rotary Clubmeeting, noon, McNeilRoom at Pleasant ValleyHospital.

POINT PLEASANT —Clothing give-away, 10a.m.-2 p.m., Point PleasantPresbyterian Church.

LETART — Twelve-steprecovery meeting supportgroup, 7 p.m., MaranathaCornerstone Church. Thegroup is intended for any-one with alcohol, drug orother addictions. For moreinformation or directions,visit www.maranathacorner-stonechurch.org or call 304-882-2567.

THURSDAY, JUNE 4POINT PLEASANT —

POINT PLEASANT —Mason County DemocraticWomen’s Organizationmeeting, 7:30 p.m., MasonCounty Public Library.

POINT PLEASANT —Lions Club meeting, 6p.m., Pleasant ValleyHospital cafeteria meetingroom.

POINT PLEASANT —Story time, 10:30 a.m. and1 p.m., Mason CountyPublic Library. Open to chil-dren ages 3-5. Registrationrequired. Questions? Call304-675-0894.


POINT PLEASANT —TOPS, weigh-in at 4:30p.m., meeting at 5 p.m.,Trinity United MethodistChurch. Questions? Call304-675-3692.

POINT PLEASANT —Weight Watchers, weigh-ins, 4:30 p.m., meeting at 5p.m., Krodel ParkClubhouse.

POINT PLEASANT —AA, 7:30 p.m., PresbyterianChurch, corner of Eighthand Main streets. Use sideentrance.

POINT PLEASANT —Point Pleasant WritersGuild for aspiring writers, 2-4 p.m., Mason CountyPublic Library. Questions?Call Nick Griffin at 304-675-3985.

FRIDAY, JUNE 5LETART — Jam session,

6:30-10 p.m., LetartCommunity Center. Country,bluegrass and gospel musicwill be featured. ThePioneers 4-H Club will pro-vide concessions.

GALLIPOLIS, Ohio —Community coffee, 8:30a.m., HMC Education andConference Center.Everyone welcome.Questions? Call 740-446-5053.

SUNDAY, JUNE 7LETART — Twelve-step

recovery meeting supportgroup, 5:30 p.m.,Maranatha CornerstoneChurch.The group is intend-ed for anyone with alcohol,drug or other addictions. Formore information or direc-tions, visit www.maranatha-cornerstonechurch.org orcall 304-882-2567.

GALLIPOLIS, Ohio —Overeaters Anonomous,5:30 p.m., St. Peter’sEpiscopal Church, SecondAvenue. Questions? Call740-441-7535.

MONDAY, JUNE 8POINT PLEASANT —

ALPHO meeting, 7:30 p.m.,Mason County PublicLibrary.

POINT PLEASANT —

Mason County Solid WasteAuthority meeting, 6 p.m.,Mason County Courthouse.

POINT PLEASANT —Mason County SpecialOlympics meeting, 7 p.m.,Mason County PublicLibrary.


TUESDAY, JUNE 9POINT PLEASANT —

Mason County 911Advisory Board, 4:15 p.m.,Mason County 911 Centermeeting room.

POINT PLEASANT —Gourd Society meeting, 6p.m., kitchen dining room atthe West Virginia StateFarm Museum. Questions?Call 304-675-5737 or 304-675-4899.

CARD SHOWERSCapt. Charles Henry

Stone will celebrate his 94thbirthday June 2. Cards maybe sent to him at 2105Mount Vernon Ave., PointPleasant, WV 25550.

Please e-mail calendaritems [email protected].

BY KATHY MITCHELL AND MARCY SUGAR

Dear Annie: I have two friends I will call “Tom”and “Jack.” All three of us have been friends sincehigh school. Tom and Jack were like brothers longbefore I met them, but even though I was a girl, theyaccepted me into their family.

After we graduated, we stopped hanging out asmuch, but have made an effort to get together everynow and then over the years. Tom’s job takes up mostof his time. Jack has a wife and son. I also have a sonand a wonderful boyfriend. The problem is Jack’swife. She hates me, which I’ve never understood sincewe’ve barely spoken. But Tom says she is jealousbecause she thinks Jack and I had “a thing” in highschool and beyond. This is absurd.

Now I am not so sure about Jack. After a recentexchange of e-mails, I believe he has feelings for meand Tom confirms it. Apparently, these feelings arenot new. I care about Tom and Jack very much. I lovethem, but in a platonic way. I tried to tell Jack that Ivalue our friendship but am already with someone Ilove and that isn’t going to change. He doesn’t seemto understand and continues to say things like, “I don’tcare what my wife thinks. I am going to be with youno matter what.”

Annie, I don’t know what to do. I don’t want Jack’swife to hate me, nor do I want the title of “home-wrecker.” But I also don’t want the friendship to end.I know things cannot continue like this. How can I getJack to understand without losing everything? —Only Sisterly Love Here

Dear Sisterly: Not all friendships can survive whenone person has an unrequited crush on the other. Untilnow, Jack has kept his feelings under wraps, but hiscurrent determination to be with you makes the friend-ship untenable. Call Jack and tell him you are sorry,but you have no interest in being with him, and sug-gest he and his wife get counseling. Then back awayand do not respond to any additional romantic over-tures.

Dear Annie: My fiance and I have a 4-year-olddaughter. Last week, she asked to visit her grand-mother. It was unclear if she meant my mother or myfiance’s, so we asked. I also asked if she meant her“third grandmother,” my stepmother. (She never fig-ured out which one she meant.)

Later, my fiance asked where I came up with theidea that our daughter has three grandmothers. Hesays since my stepmother is not my real mother, shealso is not our daughter’s grandmother and should notbe referred to as such. He wanted to be sure I would-n’t let our child refer to his stepfather as “grandfa-ther.” They don’t get along.

I was taught that a stepparent is referred to as agrandparent. Who is right? Can my stepsiblings becalled “aunt and uncle”? Can their children be“cousins”? — Reader in Pennsylvania

Dear Reader: It is perfectly OK to refer to steppar-ents as grandparents and other step-relations as aunts,uncles, cousins, etc. But when someone dislikes astepparent, it can grate. Since this bothers your fiance,you might give them specific titles (i.e., “NonnyGrace”) and always refer to them by name instead ofrelationship.

Dear Annie: I read the letter from “Trying MyBest,” whose boss complained about her “unprofes-sional hair,” which is growing back after chemo treat-ments. I am so disgusted I can hardly speak. Howinsensitive can a person be?

I wonder how such a callous person was put incharge of employees. She should be tarred and feath-ered. Then she ought to spend a day in a cancer cen-ter. A big bouquet of stinkweeds to her. — Tex

Dear Tex: Hundreds of readers wrote to say thisboss could use a refresher course in compassion anddecency. Yours was one of the few printable ones.

Annie’s Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchelland Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the AnnLanders column. Please e-mail your questions toanniesmailboxcomcast.net, or write to: Annie’sMailbox, P.O. Box 118190, Chicago, IL 60611. Tofind out more about Annie’s Mailbox, and readfeatures by other Creators Syndicate writers andcartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web pageat www.creators.com.

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SPORTSInsideReds top Astros, Page B6 B1

Thursday, May 28, 2009

STAFF [email protected]

VIENNA — The LadyKnights had a strong tour-nament opening Wednesdaymorning at the WestVirginia State SoftballChampionships hosted inJackson Park. PointPleasant started off themorning in a first-roundmatchup against the girls ofLincoln High School to fin-ish the game with a 3-0 vic-tory.

While the weather mighthave been muggy, but theperformance that the LadyKnights put on was not.Pitcher Tessa Wyant threwfor seven innings whileallowing only one hit.

Teammmates AnnaSommer and JenniferWickline were the PointPleasant athletes to crosshomeplate— Sommer oncein the first inning and afollow-up in the sixth, andWickline totaling the threeruns in the sixth.

The opposing LadyCougars allowed twounearned runs from PointPleasant with the twoerrors that they accumulat-ed during the contest. Withonly a single hit off ofWyant, Lincoln was unableto make any sort of scoringmovement.

Lady Knights Wickline,Wyant, and Devin Cottrillwere the contributors tothe Red and Black runs,

each racking up an RBI tohelp secure the PointPleasant lead and theiradvancement to the nextround of competitionagainst the ladies ofChapmanville who are cur-rently 24-3.

POINT ON PAUSE, GOINGINTO THURSDAY

The Ladies of PointPleasant were unable tocomplete play againstChapmanville Wednesdaynight, with a game suspen-sion due to weather at 9:30p.m. The game is the lastsemi-final match goinginto the Class AA champi-onship that will be heldThursday at 2 p.m.

The game was stoppedduring the fifth inning with ascorless tie between the twosquads.

Point Pleasant will resumeplay against Chapmanvilletoday at 9 a.m.

POINT PLEASANT 3, LINCOLN0

Point Pleasant 100 002 0 — 3 5 0Lincoln 000 000 0 — 0 1 2

POINT (24-9): Tessa Wyant; DevinCottrill.LINCOLN (24-5): Shay Zecco; EmmaCarpenter.WP — Wyant; LP — Zecco.

POINT PLEASANT 0,CHAPMANVILLE 05 INNINGS PLAYED

Carl Stonerolls to 16point lead


MASON — Carl Stone ofRipley has added to his leadin the Riverside Senior Men’sGolf League. Stone has a totalof 84.5 points for the seasontol ead the runners up ChetThomas and MickWinebrenner with their totalsof 68.5 points. In fourth placealone with 68 points is RalphSayre.

Tuesday’s rainy weatherbrought out 61 players forplay. There was a total of thir-teen four-man teams and threeteams of three players making16 points possible for the win-ning team. The low score forthe day was 57 (-13 under par)by the team of Siebert Belcher(Pomeroy, OH), Bob Hill(Gallipolis, OH), Bill Pethtel(New Haven), and PaulLanham (Ripley).

There was a tie for secondpalce with scores of 60 (-10under par) between the teamsof Carl Stone (Ripley), BobStewart (Cottageville), CurtisGrubb (Gallipolis, OH), andPat Williamson (New Haven);and the team of MickWinebrenner (Racine, OH),Bob Hysell (Pomeroy, OH),Jack Ochletree (Pt. Pleasant),and Don Waldie (Pt. Pleasant).

The closest to the pin win-ners were Bob Oliver on theninth hole and Bill Yoho onteh 14th hole. The total of dif-ferent players to play at leastone week of the season is now98 with five weeks remainingin the first half of he 2009 sea-son.

Riverside Senior Men’s Leaguepoint leaders as of May 28

Carl Stone 84.5Chet Thomas 68.5Mick Winebrenner 68.5Ralph Sayre 68Rich Mabe 65.5Claude Proffitt 59.5Jimmy Joe Hemsley 59Charley Hargraves 57Jim Spencer 56.5Haskel Jones 56Earl Johnson 55.5Bill Pethtel 55Don Waldie 53Ken Whited 51.5Bill Boyd 50Don Corbin 50Jim Lawrence 49Harley Rice 48.5Bob Hill 48.5Bill Winebrenner 48Jack Maloney 46Bob Hysell 46Ed Debalski 45.5Bob Oliver 45Bob Stewart 45Curtis Grubb 45Cecil Minton 44.5Rick Northup 43.5Phil Burton 43.5Siebert Belcher 41.5Bob Humphreys 41.5Willis Dudding 41DIck Dugan 40.5Jack Ochletree 40Jerry Dean 40Pat Williamson 38.5

Marshallrescindsscholarshipto arrestedplayer

HUNTINGTON (AP) —Marshall has cut ties to aFlorida football recruitfollowing his arrest.

Marshall coach MarkSnyder said Wednesdayhe’s released quarterbackA.J. Graham from hisscholarship after the 18-year-old was charged withrobbery with a firearm.

Police in Tallahassee,Fla., arrested Graham onTuesday.

Graham was the 2008Florida player of the year.He signed with Marshallin February after leadingGodby High inTallahassee to the Class3A state championshipgame.

White Falcons soar past Charleston Catholic, 3-1BY GARY CLARK

SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

BUFFALO — TheWahama White Falcon base-ball nine escaped with a 3-1diamond victory Wednesdayafternoon at Buffalo HighSchool to advance to theRegion IV finals in the com-pletion of the Regionalsemifinal contest withCharleston Catholic follow-ing a three day ordeal withthe weather.

The regional semifinalwin earns the Bend Area dia-mond nine a berth in theRegion IV finals againstMan on Thursday at 6 p.m.at Wahama with the victoradvancing to next weeksstate tournament atAppalachian Power Park inCharleston.

The two ranked teamsbegan the regional post-sea-son contest on Monday butrain forced the postpone-ment before the first pitchwas thrown. On Tuesdaythe White Falcons and Irishplayed five innings beforerain again washed the gameout forcing a third day ofbaseball activity to completethe Region IV semifinalaffair.

Wahama carried a 3-1 leadwhen play resumed at thepoint of interruption onWednesday with the BendArea team holding on for thetourney win.

The White Falcons col-lected only five hits duringthe three day marathon butbunched three of those in thebottom half of the fifthinning to score three timesand erase a 1-0 CharlestonCatholic advantage.

WHS began its three runrally off Irish lefty, SamWood, after Wood retired thefirst two Falcon batters inthe fifth. Tyler Kitchenripped a Wood offering intoright to initiate the three runuprising with Jacob Roachworking his way back froman 0-2 count to coax a walkoff the Charleston Catholicace.

Garrett Underwood thendelivered a clutch, baseclearing double into the gapin right-center to send bothKitchen and Roach scamper-ing home with what provedto be the game winning tal-lies. William Zuspan pro-vided the local nine with an

insurance run moments laterfollowing a free pass to ZacWarth with a base hit backthrough the middle to drivein Underwood and giveWahama a 3-1 lead.

On Wednesday WHS dia-mond coach, Tom Cullen,called on junior right-handerWilliam Zuspan to close thedoor on the Irish in relief ofstarter Jerry Berkley.Berkley scattered five hitswhile striking out three andwalking three with the loneCharleston Catholic runbeing unearned.

Zuspan, needing six outsto vault the locals into theRegion IV finals, allowed ahit in the sixth and the sev-enth but pitched his way outof trouble with three strike-outs and no walks. MattGoolsby greeted Zuspanwith a single to center toopen the Irish sixth but suc-cessive strikeouts and a finerunning catch by Roach inleft-center ended the threat.

In the seventh CharlestonCatholic placed the tyingruns on base on a WHS errorand a single by AlexBobinger with one out butZuspan extinguished the

Irish bid to knot the score bygetting Bo McKown to popout before fanning JohnBaird to end the game.

Wahama totaled five hitsin the three day outing withUnderwood’s two-run blastbeing the big hit of the con-test. Zuspan collected anRBI single with Kitchen,Roach and Brice Clark alsoowning a single each.

Wood paced CharlestonCatholic offensively with apair of singles with Goolsby,McKown, David Sadd,Patrick Huxley andBobinger also stroking a sin-gle each for the Irish.

Wood was sailing alongwith a one-hitter through thefirst four frames before forCharleston Catholic beforethe Falcons got to the left-hander for three runs onthree hits in the fifth. Woodworked five innings allow-ing three runs, all earned, onfour hits with four strikeoutsand three walks in taking themound setback. Bobingerpitched the sixth forCharleston Catholic andgave up a lone hit to Clarkwhile striking out two andwalking none.

Wahama will host theRegion IV finals againstMan (16-12) today at 6 p.m.after the Hillbillies defeatedMatewan by a 5-4 margin ineight innings on Wednesdayin the other semifinalregional contest. LikeCharleston Catholic, Manencountered some prettystiff competition during the2009 spring season with theHillbillies meeting the likesof Class AAA foes Logan,Capital and Nitro in additionto Class AA opponentsChapmanville and WyomingEast.

The Hillbillies andWahama have faced threecommon opponents this yearin Buffalo, CharlestonCatholic and Williamstownwith Man sporting a 3-2mark against the trio whileWahama was 7-2 against theBison, Yellow Jackets andIrish.

WAHAMA 3, CHAS. CATHOLIC 1

Catholic 000 100 0 — 1 7 0Wahama 000 030 x — 3 5 2

WP — Berkley; LP — Wood; S —Zuspan.

Coachespoll to be confidentialbeginningnext year

BY EDDIE PELLSAP NATIONAL WRITER

Beginning in 2010, bal-lots in the final regular-season USA Today coach-es’ college football pollwill be kept confidential— one of a handful ofchanges on tap for the pollthat helps decide whoplays in the BCS nationalchampionship game.

The American FootballCoaches Association hadasked Gallup to study itspoll and recommend howto make it more accurateand credible. The AFCA’sboard heard the results inearly May and announcedthem Wednesday in Waco,Texas.

Gallup recommenda-tions being considered forthe future include reduc-ing the number of teamsranked from 25 to 10 or15, and evaluating themerit of a preseason poll.

Starting this year, thepoll will also eliminatebonus voters given tosome conferences basedon how their teams did theprevious year.

The most radicalchange, however, will tobe to return to the policyin place before 2005,when coaches didn’t haveto reveal their final bal-lots. Coaches will beallowed to release theirown ballots if they choose.

The Associated Presshas made all votes in itsweekly poll public since1990. For the past threeseasons, ballots have alsobeen posted online.

Lady Knights charge through state tourney

BlackKnightsrockRaiders


BUFFALO — In a contestmarked with an hour and ahalf intermission, the BlackKnights baseball squadpowered through the weath-er and the competition tocomplete a victorious matchagainst the Raiders ofRoane County. PointPleasant defeated RoaneCounty in a 6-4, seven-inning game to secure notonly a win but a ticket tocontinue on in the Class AAregional tournament.

Bryan Walters/file photoPoint Pleasant’s Anna Sommer, left, and Tessa Wyant,right, congratulate one another following an out in this April1 file photo against Wahama in New Haven.

Bryan Walters/file photoWahama’s Brice Clark, left, rounds second base and heads toward third during this May15 file photo of a Class A sectional final against Buffalo at Wahama High School in Mason. Please see Point, B2Please see Poll, B2

LOCAL SCHEDULEPOINT PLEASANT — A schedule of upcom-

ing high school varsity sporting events involvingteams from Mason, Meigs and Gallia counties.

Thursday, May 28Baseball — D-4 Regional tourney

Southern vs. Newark Catholic atBeavers Field in Lancaster, 2 p.m.Wahama vs. Man, 6 p.m.Point Pleasant at Weir, 6:30 p.m.

Softball — State tournamentPoint Pleasant vs. Chapmanville atVienna, 9 a.m.

Track and FieldD-2 Regional qualifying at ByesvilleMeadowbrook HS, 4:30 p.m.

Friday, May 29Track and Field

D-3 Regional finals at Fairfield UnionHS, 4:30 p.m.

Page B2 • Point Pleasant Register www.mydailyregister.com Thursday, May 28, 2009

THURSDAY TELEVISION GUIDE

Anna Jessmer/photoIn this May 15 file photo, Point Pleasant’s Brock McClungreaches for third base in the Black Knights’ post-seasonmatch against Ravenswood. Point Pleasant defeatedRoane County Wednesday night in the Class AA regionaltournament.

The first two innings ofthe matchup were a deadheat between the twosquads, both Point andRoane unable to moveahead of the other. Thisscorless trend was promptlyfinished in the third inning,when the Black Knightsracked up a single run totake the lead and inch aheadof the Raiders in the match.

The fourth inning againended without any runs, set-ting the stage for whatwould be a more action-packed game completion.

Point Pleasant addedthree runs to their total inthe fifth which was

responded to by a pair ofruns by Roane Countydirectly after.

With the score at 4-2, theRaiders rallied together toput up another pair in thesixth inning, tying up thatmatch at 4 apiece.

The Black Knights’ deter-mination and strength tri-umphed with a two-runfinale and a solid defensiveeffort in the seventh inningthat clinched the 6-4 victoryover Roane.

Offensive contributors tothe Point Pleasant successwere many. D.W. Herdmanwent 2 for 4 in the match aswell as knocking out a dou-

ble. Eric Veith finished thegame at 1 for 4 and wasnoted with a double and anRBI. Titus Russell went 3for 4 and hit two almost-homer doubles that earnedhim two RBIs in the con-test.

Other hitters included asingle from catcher B.J.Lloyd, a single from JustinWeaver, and a double fromJustin Cavendar.

The Black Knights con-tinue in Class AA tourna-ment play on the road todayat Weir starting at 6:30 p.m.

POINT PLEASANT 6, ROANE COUNTY 4

Point Pleasant: 001 030 2 — 6 9 1Roane County: 000 022 0 — 4 7 2

POINT: Brock McClung, Tyson Jones(6); B.J. Lloyd.ROANE: Alex Mace, Justin Dines (6),Josh Jones (7); Ryan McKenzie.WP — Jones; LP — McKenzie.

Pointfrom Page B1

Revealing the ballotshas caused some awkwardsituations for the coaches’poll. Former Floridacoaches Steve Spurrier(now at South Carolina)and Ron Zook (Illinois),for instance, took someheat last year when theyranked the Gators secondbehind Oklahoma in lastyear’s final regular-seasonpoll.

Zook, meanwhile, wascriticized two years previ-ously when he picked theGators as No. 1 over OhioState, which is in the BigTen with Illinois.

Zook said whether the

poll is confidential or not,his method remains thesame.

“To me, I was alwaysgoing to vote how I felt,”he said. “I think that’swhy you have a poll.That’s why more than oneperson is involved. Sowhat I try to do is rank theteams where I really feelthey should be. I’m notreal into the politicalstuff.”

The AFCA also decidedto continue allowingcoaches to vote for theirown teams and to selectvoters on a random basisbeginning this year.

Poll from Page B1 Visit us

onlineat

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Thursday, May 28, 2009 www.mydailyregister.com PPooiinntt PPlleeaassaanntt RReeggiisstteerr • Page B5PEANUTS

BEETLE BAILEY

THE BORN LOSER

NANCY

MARY WORTH

REX MORGAN

COW and BOY

BIG NATE

ARLO & JANIS

BRIDGE

PhillipAlder

SOUP TO NUTZ

FRANK & EARNESTBefore you play,review your optionsTim Mefford said, “The wages of sin aredeath, but the benefits include dental,major medical, two-week paid vacation,pension fund, and stock options.Actually, taken as a package, it’s arather attractive deal.”At the bridge table, take stock of youroptions. If you find the right one, you cantell people about your attractive play onthat deal.Will this deal cook up dinner conversa-tion? You are in three no-trump. Westleads the spade six and East plays hiseight. What would be your plan?As regular readers will know, I think atwo-no-trump opening bid should show21-22 points, but that good 20s qualify.And your hand is an excellent 20, withalmost all of its points in aces and kings.North’s three diamonds was a transferbid, guaranteeing five or more heartsand at least zero points. Then Northoffered a choice of games with three no-trump. With only a doubleton heart, youselected three no-trump.You have five top tricks: two spades(given trick one), two diamonds and oneclub. Four more can come from thehearts. However, if the defender with theheart ace learned the game at least 10minutes ago, he will not take the firstheart trick. And if he does hold up hisace, you will then need a dummy entryto get to the established heart winners.Where is your entry?Right — it must come from spades.How?Take the first trick with your spade ace,not on the board. Then drive out theheart ace, win East’s shift, and play aspade to force an entry into the dummy.

Friday, May 29, 2009By Bernice Bede Osol

In the year ahead, personal projects maybe satisfying, but it could be anotherstory when it comes to work performedfor someone else. If so, it might be wiserto look for another job than to continuedoing something so dissatisfying.GEMINI (May 21-June 20) — Think twicebefore rushing to judgment over a situa-tion you can usually size up quickly. Ifthings are distorted, even a little bit, theycould provide a false reading.CANCER (June 21-July 22) — Don’t tryto keep pace with the big spenders. Ifyou are unable to match an extravagantpal, don’t do anything with him or her thatrequires oodles of cash.LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) — Important deci-sion-making that could have a directeffect upon your interests should not beleft to someone with questionable judg-ment. Don’t hesitate to make your ownchoices.VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — It’s not likeyou to stand back, but you could leaveeverything to another because you don’twant to interfere. He or she will interpretthis as laziness on your part and renegeon the deal.LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) — Be opti-mistic about all your involvements, but atthe same time, it’s important to be realis-tic as well. Remember, castles built withsand can easily be washed out to sea.SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) — Self-doubts must not restrain you to the pointwhere you fail to make any effort at all.It’s better to struggle a bit — even fail acouple of times — than not to try at all.SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) —Avoid debating volatile issues with oth-ers. You’ll look far smarter if you saynothing; don’t attempt to defend thingsabout which you have little or no knowl-edge.CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) —Knowing the generous person you are,someone with ulterior motives mightattempt to take advantage of your kindnature. Don’t be manipulated by a self-serving person.AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Yourway of doing things might not be as pop-ular with companions as you think. If yousee them backing off, don’t try to pres-sure them into compliance.PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) — Be sen-sible about the value of the work or serv-ices you perform for another. You woulddo yourself a grave disservice if youattempt to take advantage of a customer.The word will get out.ARIES (March 21-April 19) — Althoughyou like being No. 1, you don’t necessar-ily need to be the center of attention.However, if there is someone deliberate-ly upstaging you, it might rub you thewrong way.TAURUS (April 20-May 20) — If there istoo much hemming and hawing about amatter that needs to be finalized, a pro-ductive arrangement will be renderedvalueless. You’ll have only yourself toblame.

Page B6 • Point Pleasant Register www.mydailyregister.com Thursday, May 28, 2009



Magic 1 win from finals returnORLANDO, Fla. (AP) —

Dressed in black, theimposing 7-footer sat nearthe floor for Game 4 like acasual NBA fan. He washardly one.

Around here, ShaquilleO’Neal means much more.

He represents the link toOrlando’s glorious past,however brief it may be.Shaq, a basket-breakingbehemoth with the powerof several men, led theMagic to their only NBAfinals appearance in 1995,a short visit that ended withan embarrassing sweep byHouston.

The Magic and theirmaniacal fans have longedfor a second shot at a title.

They can almost touch it.Orlando moved within

one win of ending its 14-year finals drought onTuesday night as DwightHoward, the Magic’s pre-sent-day Diesel, scored 27points — 10 in overtime —in a 116-114 win over theCleveland Cavaliers to takea 3-1 lead in the EasternConference finals andshove LeBron James andhis not-so-supportive castto the edge of an earlysummer break.

A razor-thin series —two one-point games, and atwo-pointer in OT —where the last team withthe ball usually emergesvictorious, could endThursday night. Maybe.

“We’re up 3-1, but wecan’t relax,” said RashardLewis, whose catch-and-shoot 3-pointer with 4.1seconds left in regulationwas easily Game 4’s mostdramatic shot. “Anythingcan happen. We got to go toCleveland looking to tryand close these guys out.”

The Magic got moregood news Wednesdaywhen the NBA rescindedHoward’s Game 4 techni-cal foul, his sixth of theplayoffs. Under leaguerules, Howard would’vebeen automatically sus-pended for one game hadhe received a seventh tech-nical during the postsea-son.

Orlando heads into Game5 with no fear of the road.They finished off thedefending championBoston Celtics on their

famed parquet floor in aGame 7 in the previousround and have a chance toend Cleveland’s dream sea-son on the court of KingJames.

The MVP, who scored 44points in Game 4 and hasdone everything but drivethe team bus in the series,won’t go quietly.

Following Game 4,James, averaging 42.3points, 7.3 rebound and 7.3assists, said he’s ready forhis next shot at the impres-sive Magic.

“I’m up for the chal-lenge,” said James, whocouldn’t replicate hisGame 2 heroics and misseda tough 3-pointer at thebuzzer in Game 4. “And Ithink my play, my leader-ship has spoke for that. SoI will be ready, and I thinkour guys will be readyalso.”

Orlando coach Stan VanGundy, who doesn’t sleepwell even when things aregoing great, knows if any-one can turn this seriesaround it’s the magnificentJames.

“This thing is a long,long, long way from over,just like the games in thisseries have been,” he said.“When you’ve got a guy asgreat as him on the otherside, you’re a long wayfrom done.”

The odds are stackedagainst the Cavaliers.

In the NBA’s 62-yearpostseason history, 190teams have taken a 3-1 leadin a series and 182 of themhave won. More dauntingfor the Cavaliers is that theMagic have won 10 of thepast 14 meetings betweenthe teams, and were one ofthree teams to win atCleveland’s QuickenLoans Arena this season.

James and Co. are run-ning out of time andanswers.

Cleveland’s matchupproblems are glaring:Height, depth, speed. Youname it, Orlando has itover Cleveland.

When the Cavs have con-centrated on stoppingHoward down low, theMagic make 3-pointers(they hit 17 of 38 in Game4), and when Clevelandfocuses its defense on

guarding the perimeter,Howard destroys them nearthe basket.

Care for some arsenic?Or hemlock?

Orlando’s bench hasbeen a major factor, too, asRafer Alston (26 points)and Mickael Pietrus (17)gave the Magic a huge lift.

If not for James’ miracu-lous shot to win Game 2,this series would be overand so would the LeBronvs. Kobe finals envisionedby many, but not the guysin blue and white.

The Cavaliers can’t fig-ure out what to do next.

“We’re breaking down inareas we haven’t brokendown all year,” James said.“We got to give up some-thing.”

In this series, James hasbecome a solo artist in atight-knit basketball bandnow splitting up because ofcreative differences.

Cavs guard Mo Williamsmay soon become knownas the guy who couldn’tback up his guarantee. AnAll-Star guard who hasn’tplayed close to one,Williams, who missed 10of 15 shots in Game 4,stuck out his neck bypromising Clevelandwould rally to win theseries.

It will take three straightwins over a team rollinglike it hasn’t since the daysof Shaq, Penny Hardawayand Nick Anderson.

“All the pressure’s onthem,” said Orlando rookieguard Courtney Lee.

James lingered in thecorridor outsideCleveland’s locker roomfollowing his postgamepress conference onTuesday night. He chattedwith friends and family,trying to explain what wentwrong for the third time inthis series.

James was in no rush.And then, Howard andLewis stepped through acurtain, creating an awk-ward moment that therewas only one way to reme-dy. The MVP spun, adjust-ed his designer sunglassesand walked off, headingtoward the team charter.

The Cavs left for Ohio,looking for some magic oftheir own.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP)— Former Kentucky men’sbasketball coach BillyGillispie sued the schoolWednesday, seeking at least$6 million he says he is owedon his deal after being firedwithout cause.

Gillispie, who was dis-missed last spring, was work-ing under a memorandum ofunderstanding but hadn’tsigned a formal contract dur-ing the two years he coachedthe Wildcats.

He contends that under thatmemorandum, he should bepaid $1.5 million a year forfour of the five years left onthe deal. The suit also asks foran undisclosed amount ofpunitive damages, attorneys’fees, court costs and interest.

The lawsuit filed in federalcourt in Dallas contends theschool’s athletics associationis in breach of contract andhas committed fraud becausethe university never intendedto honor the agreement.

“Rather than honor its writ-ten, signed deal with coachGillispie, defendant prefersinstead to pretend as thoughno deal was ever reached,”the lawsuit says.“Unfortunately for defendant,its make-believe world is justthat.”

University attorneysexpressed surprise over thelawsuit.

“The university was contin-uing to negotiate a separationin good faith and his counselhad asked for more time,”they said in a statement.

Kentucky athletics directorMitch Barnhart, reachedWednesday at theSoutheastern Conferencemeetings in Destin, Fla., saidhe had no comment.

“I just got off the phonewith our attorneys and I can’tsay anything,” Barnhart said.

Jimmy Stanton, aspokesman for University ofKentucky President LeeTodd, also declined comment

because the matter involvespending litigation.

Much of the 24-page law-suit highlights the 49-year-old Gillispie’s biography,describing him as an up-and-coming coach who resurrect-ed a Texas A&M programbefore leaving to leadKentucky, the nation’s all-time winningest college bas-ketball program. It also sayshe was negotiating a newcontract with Texas A&Mand that Kentucky officialsinterfered.

“He resigned a promising,successful position as head-coach with a rapidly ascend-ing program at Texas A&M,”it says. “He did so because hebelieved (the university’s)false representations to himduring his negotiations.”

In three seasons with theAggies, Gillispie was 70-26,making the NCAA tourna-ment twice including theSweet 16 in 2007. The previ-ous three seasons beforeGillispie came on board,A&M was 20-22.

Gillispie went 40-27 in twoseasons with the Wildcats,including a 22-14 mark lastseason that tied for the sec-ond-most losses in the pro-gram’s 106-year history. Astumble down the stretch leftthe Wildcats out of theNCAA tournament for thefirst time since 1991.

He also was criticized forfailing to properly representthe school as an ambassadorand occasionally being prick-

ly with the media, includingtwo halftime clashes with afemale ESPN reporter.

His one-page terminationletter concluded Gillispie wasnot a “good fit” for theschool, and it specificallycited his failure to come to anagreement on a full employ-ment contract.

During a news conferencethe day after he was fired,Gillispie maintained he wasdue the full $6 million buyoutas stipulated in the memoran-dum of understanding.

“That’s what it says in thecontract, that’s what it lookslike to me,” he said. “I don’tknow all the details and allthose kind of things. I justknow we signed a contract. Itwas a shorter version thanmaybe some.”

Gillispie’s attorney,Demetrios Anaipakos, saidWednesday that Gillispieprefers to let the lawsuitspeak for itself for now. Hesaid it was appropriate that itbe filed in Texas rather thanKentucky.

“This lawsuit belongs inDallas because that is wherethe University of Kentuckycontacted coach Gillispie,” hesaid. “That is where theynegotiated their deal, and thatis where parties reach theunderstanding he would be anew head coach.”

Gillispie still has a homenear Lexington. He is notcoaching right now.

Former Memphis coachJohn Calipari agreed to aneight-year, $31.65 milliondeal in April to succeedGillispie as Kentucky’s headcoach. Barnhart stressed atthe news conference intro-ducing Calipari that it was afull employment contract andhad been signed.

Calipari has already attract-ed some of the top highschool recruits in the countryto Lexington, includingsecuring two star playersGillispie had recruited.

Ex-Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie sues over firing

CINCINNATI (AP) — JayBruce homered twice andBronson Arroyo pitched afive-hitter Wednesday night,leading the Cincinnati Redsto a 6-1 victory and a three-game sweep of the HoustonAstros.

Bruce was in a 1-for-18slump when he hit a solo shotoff Felipe Paulino (1-4) inthe fourth. His two-runhomer off the right-handermade it 5-1 in the sixth andput the Reds in position fortheir first sweep of the Astrosin Cincinnati since May2004.

Bruce completed hisbreakout game with a run-scoring triple in the eighth offChris Sampson. Cincinnatihas won four in a row for thefirst time this season.

Arroyo (7-3) gave up foursingles, a double and onewalk in his seventh careercomplete game and first thisseason.

The last-place Astros havedropped seven straightgames — their longest skidof the season — and hit anew low point at 18-27.

Houston gave up anotherunearned run — its ninth ofthe series — while complet-ing three days of miserablebaseball in a city where it hadfelt at home. Houston hadwon 11 of its last 12 games atGreat American Ball Parkheading into the series.

On this visit, everythingwent wrong.

Houston gave up eightunearned runs in an 8-5 lossin the opener, then had RoyOswalt — 23-1 careeragainst Cincinnati — hurt hispitching hand and blow alead in a 6-4 defeat onTuesday night.

This one provided a fittingfinish.

The Reds hit three homersoff Paulino — Jerry HairstonJr. also had a solo shot — insix innings. The right-handerfell to 0-2 in three startsagainst Cincinnati this season.

Arroyo gave up a sacrificefly to Lance Berkman in thefirst inning, then dug in.Houston got only two morerunners to second baseagainst Arroyo, who struckout three in an efficient out-

ing — 92 pitches.The Reds scored their

unearned run in the third,when Willy Taveras buntedwith two outs. CatcherHumberto Quintero fieldedand sailed a throw into theoutfield, allowing Taveras toreach third standing up.Hairston followed with a sin-gle for his second RBI.

Notes: The Astros plan toactivate RHP Brandon Backefrom the DL on Friday. Backehas been sidelined sinceMarch 27 by strained musclesin his left side. Manager CecilCooper said Backe’s role isundetermined. ... Astros hit-ting coach Sean Berry, recov-ering from surgery to removea cancerous kidney, will havea follow-up visit with the doc-tor on Monday and couldrejoin the club then. ...Houston SS Miguel Tejadadoubled in the ninth, extend-ing his hitting streak to 11games. ... Reds RHP EdinsonVolquez threw in the bullpenwithout problem. Volquez, onthe DL with a sore back,expects to be activated onMonday and start in St. Louis.

Cincinnati Reds starterBronson Arroyo pitches

against the HoustonAstros in the first inning

of a baseball gameWednesday, in

Cincinnati.

AP photo

Bruce hits 2 HRs, Reds sweep Astros

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